Fish was always an important nutritional element, trade and health resource in the ancient world. Fishing in the rivers or in the open sea appears as one of the most ancient and important activities since prehistoric times. Abundant prehistoric traces of fishing tools, fish motifs in pre-Greek, Scythian, and Thracian ornaments around the Black Sea shores offer excellent evidence for activities of fishing in the broader Black Sea area although the large scale of activity remained restricted to...

The dense chain of Greek towns and emporia in the Black Sea area and, later on, the establishment of the Roman administration required the protection of the local communities from inland and sea enemies with solid fortifications, erected in industrial or agricultural areas, which also provided the setting for the conduct of everyday social life.

Although almost all of the ancient Greek cities of the northern Black Sea were fortified, there is limited information available about those constructions. The parts of the fortifications revealed by archaeological excavations usually prevent the full reconstruction of the defensive system of each city. They, however, provide an indication of their general development, covering the period between the foundations of the colonies in the 6th c. BC and the 4th c. AD, when most of the cities had...